As is well known, garage doors or gates enclose an area to allow selective ingress and egress to and from the area. Garage doors initially were moveable by hand. But due to their weight and the inconvenience of opening and closing the door, motors are now linked to the door through an operator controller. Control of such a motor may be provided by a hard-wired or wireless push button which, when actuated, relays a signal to the operator controller that starts the motor and moves the door in one direction until a predetermined limit is reached. When the button is pressed again, the motor moves the door in an opposite direction. Garage door operators are now provided with safety features which stop and reverse the door travel when an obstruction is encountered. Other safety devices, such as photoelectric sensors, detect whenever there is an obstruction within the path of the door and send a signal to the operator to take corrective action. Remote control devices are now also provided to facilitate the opening and closing of the door without having to get out of the car. The prior art also discloses various other added features for the convenience of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,271 to Roddy, et al. discloses a programmable transmitter which includes a receiver for receiving a coded signal at a desired frequency. The code is stored in memory during a learning mode and is then retransmitted sequentially at a plurality of frequencies, including the desired frequency. During this time, the operator observes the device to be operated and indicates to the transmitter when the controlled device performs the desired function, i.e., when the desired frequency is transmitted. At that time, the user presses a button on the transmitter, and the transmitter stores the most recently transmitted frequency. This method addresses both multiple RF codes and frequencies which the need for both is redundant but necessary to cover all different manufacturers' devices. This art is only relevant for showing methods of RF communication with multiple frequencies rather that measuring amplitude of signals at the same frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,106 to Beran et al. discloses an apparatus and related methods for entryway access control using serial discretely coded radio frequency transmissions initiated by a single user access request signal. The control apparatus is battery operated and includes a user actuatable input selectively generating a single electrical initiation signal. Circuitry provides first and second conditioned output signals responsive to receipt of the single electrical initiation signal, the output signals enabling first and second transmission channels, respectively, of an RF transmitter or transmitters. A signal delaying circuit delays output of the second conditioned output signal relative to output of the first conditioned output signal. This method of activating is deficient in that a device requires generation of two separate RF signals at timed intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,224 to Fitzgibbon discloses a movable barrier or garage door operator that has a control head controlling an electric motor connected to a movable barrier or garage door to open and close it. The control head has an RF receiver for receiving RF signals from a hand-held transmitter or a fixed keypad transmitter. The receiver operates the electric motor upon matching a received code with a stored code. The stored codes may be updated or loaded either by enabling the learn mode of the receiver from the fixed keypad transmitter or from a wired control unit positioned within the garage. This device controls both the operator and the garage light but both are controlled through the motor control board and not separate devices so separate communication is not required. This type of arrangement—by running the light control through the operator controls—causes the light to be responsive to the operator. For example, if the garage door is either in the open or closed position and the light has been activated by the light circuit, when the operator motor is activated, the control board will take the light on function and route it to the time delay circuit and turn the light out when the timer expires leaving the user in the dark until the light circuit is again manually activated. This device uses one receiver to receive the transmitted signal and can activate either the light or the motorized operator. However the light must be wired to the control board. Therefore is the light is remote from the operator then wires must be ran to connect the light to the control board. Because of this wiring issue, all the devices that practice this invention mount the light integral with the operator housing that contains the motor control board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,442 to Mosebrook, et al. discloses an apparatus for controlling an electrical device by remote control including a control device coupled to the electrical device by a wire connection for providing power to the electrical device. The control device includes an actuator for adjusting the status of the electrical device, and a radio frequency transmitter/receiver and antenna for adjusting the status of the electrical device in response to control information in a radio frequency signal. The transmitter/receiver receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna and transmits a status radio frequency signal with information regarding the status of the electrical device. A master control unit has at least one actuator and status indicator and a transmitter/receiver for transmitting a radio frequency signal having the control information therein to control the status of the electrical device and for receiving the status information from the control device. The status indicator indicates the status of the electrical device in response to the status information. A repeater receives the radio frequency signal from the master unit and transmits the control information to the control device and receives the status information from the control device and transmits it to the master unit. This device relates to the control of electrical devices, and in particular, electric lamps, from remote locations. Even more particularly, the device relates to the control of electrical devices such as electric lamps from remote locations through communication links, e.g., radio frequency links. In particular, the device relates to a system for controlling electrical devices from remote locations over, for example, radio frequency links and which dispenses with any need to alter the internal wiring of the electrical system, i.e., the internal wiring of a building. This device is flawed in that it requires providing a manual actuator at the control device for adjusting the status of the electrical device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,855 to Knibbe discloses a building management system that improves the regulation and control of appliances, such as luminaries, window blinds and heating equipment in a building. The appliances are connected via a communication bus to a control system, which performs the automatic regulation and control. To avoid rewiring the bus every time that changes are made to the arrangement of the appliances and/or the lay-out of the building, transponders are mounted at regular fixed places in the building, wherein the transponders transmit bus signals wirelessly to the appliances.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,226 to Houggy, et al. discloses the control of electrical devices, and in particular, electric lamps from remote locations through radio frequency links. This device further relates to a system for controlling electrical devices from remote locations over communications links, e.g., radio frequency links, and which dispenses with any need to alter the internal wiring of the electrical system, i.e., the internal wiring of a building. And the device relates to a communication protocol for such a system for providing communications signals between components of the system to insure that each component reliably receives communications intended for it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,637 to Doppelt, et al. discloses a garage door operator with a light control that includes a garage door movement apparatus for moving the garage door in an open and close directions within a doorway. The operator also includes a light having an on and an off state; a controller for generating a door movement signal for operating the door movement apparatus and for generating a light enable signal for operating the light in one of a plurality of on and off states; and an obstacle detector for detecting the presence of an obstruction in the doorway. The controller responds to the door state (traveling open, traveling closed and stopped open) in order to control operation of the door and activation of the lights. When the door state indicates the door is stopped open and the obstacle detector detects an obstruction in the doorway, the controller generates a light enable signal for enabling the light. This device requires a signal from a RF transmitter or a hard wired remote switch to the controller which then activates either the operator or the light, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,300 to Suman, et al. discloses a control system that selectively controls the operation of at least one lamp and at least one garage door opener. The control system includes a control module which includes connectors adapted to be coupled to at least one lamp through household AC power conductors. The control module also includes terminals adapted to be connected to a garage door opener mechanism. A circuit positioned in the control module receives and identifies radio frequency signals, stores control information associated with a plurality of received signals from a remote control in a training mode and outputs control signals for communication over the AC power line and the garage door mechanism in accordance with the stored control signals when one of said remote control signals is received in an operating mode. The control module also includes a selector used to select garage door and/or light control operations to be associated with a signal received by the control module in a training mode. In this disclosure, the RF signal goes to a control module and then to the light or the operator.
In some of the prior art listed above, the control module for the lights is the same module for the operator so if there is a problem with one circuit, it could affect both units. Further, discreet signals are required for the control module to differentiate the command for the lights versus the command for the door. Further still, the lamp is normally activated to illuminate when the door operate command is issued and as mentioned above, once the activation occurs whether previously illuminated or not, the control module would switch the light command to the time delay circuit and shut off the light after a predetermined period of time. This necessitates a manual activation of the light after the control circuit times out. Accordingly, there is need in the art for more flexibility in controlling lights in proximity to the enclosed area associated with the barrier. There is also a need for the ability to control movements of the barrier and an electrical “load”—such as an appliance—with the same device.